CAEP ACCREDITATION AND ASSESSMENT
Welcome to Mississippi Valley State University’s (MVSU) Teacher Education Department Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) web site. This website will present the accreditation status of the Educator Preparation Program at MVSU.
CAEP’s mission is to advance excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement. Launched in 2013, CAEP works with more than 900 educator preparation providers currently participating in its accreditation system. CAEP serves all providers previously accredited by or currently seeking accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). In addition, CAEP serves providers not previously accredited by NCATE or TEAC. The scope of CAEP’s work is the accreditation of U.S. and international educator preparation programs at the certification/licensure, bachelor’s, master’s, post-baccalaureate, and doctoral levels. CAEP seeks to increase the value of accreditation and to increase participation by providers in the accreditation system. It builds on the decades of institutional knowledge of the sector’s previous accreditors, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), founded in 1954, and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), founded in 1997, which agreed to form CAEP to advance the field of educator preparation.
The Teacher Education Department at Mississippi Valley State University is preparing its CAEP accreditation visit during Fall 2020 with Accreditation Feedback during Spring 2021.
Unit Assessment System
The unit's assessment system reflects the Teacher Education Department's (TED) conceptual framework. The Assessment system is also aligned with InTASC professional standards, Specialized Professional Associations (SPAs) and Mississippi State standards. The system is shared with College faculty through Faculty Meetings and notifications and with its school partners through the Teacher Education Council. The system includes comprehensive and integrated assessment and evaluation measures to monitor candidate performance as well as to manage and improve the unit's operations and programs. Decisions about candidate performance are based on multiple assessments at decision points in both the Initial Education (Elementary and Secondary) and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) programs--admission to programs, at appropriate transition points, at program completion, and after graduation. The unit has taken effective steps to eliminate bias in assessments and is working continuously to establish the fairness, accuracy, and consistency of its procedures and unit operations.
Establishing Validity and Reliability
The principles for measures used in the CAEP accreditation process include: (a) validity and reliability, (b) relevance, (c) verifiability, (d) representativeness, (e) cumulativeness, (f) fairness, (g) stakeholder interest, (h) benchmarks, (i) vulnerability to manipulation, and (j) action ability . CAEP requires valid and reliable assessments to demonstrate candidate quality and that various stakeholders must contribute to the validity of the assessments. Validity and Reliability are two of the most important criteria when assessing instruments. Reliability means consistency and a test is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure.
According to CAEP’s Evidence Guide, the responsibility lies with the EPP to provide valid (and reliable) evidence. CAEP is committed to stronger preparation and accreditation data. The profession needs evidence that assessment is intentional, purposeful, and addresses deliberately posed questions of importance. Such reporting entails interpretation and reflection; measures need to be integrated and holistic; and approaches to its assessment can be qualitative and quantitative, and direct and indirect. ALL EPP created assessments used in the CAEP review must meet the Sufficient level on the CAEP Instrument rubric.
The attached validity and reliability plan provides instruction on how te EPP will develop Validity and reliability for EPP created assessments.
2020-2021 Unit Annual Assessment Report